principal quantum number

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noun Physics.

the nonnegative, integral quantum number that defines the stationary orbits in the Bohr model of the atom.

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Also called total quantum number.

Origin of principal quantum number

First recorded in 1920–25

Words nearby principal quantum number

principal nursing officer, principal optic axis, principal parts, principal plane, principal point, principal quantum number, principal rafter, principal value, principate, Príncipe, principium

How to use principal quantum number in a sentence

“Our members continue to face a number of challenges,” she said.
The Republican War on Kale|Patricia Murphy|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The number of dissenters though is unprecedented in the modern era.
Democrats Accidentally Save Boehner From Republican Coup|Ben Jacobs, Jackie Kucinich|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Starting under Theodore Roosevelt and Howard Taft, embassies headed by career diplomats increased in number.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale|William O’Connor|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The number of diplomats was pitiful (45 appointees in 1860), as was the amount of money allocated to them.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale|William O’Connor|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Jett sees this number as a marker of how much the president allows professionals to do the job.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale|William O’Connor|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is the first and principal point at which we can stanch the wastage of teaching energy that now goes on.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The country is well inhabited, for it contains fifty-one cities, near a hundred walled towns, and a great number of villages.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
"The Smoker," and "Mother and Daughter," a triptych, are two of her principal pictures.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
It is the principal waste-product of metabolism, and constitutes about one-half of all the solids excreted—about 30 gm.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
We had six field-pieces, but we only took four, harnessed wit twice the usual number of horses.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various

Scientific definitions for principal quantum number

principal quantum number

[ prĭn′sə-pəl ]

See under quantum number.